Keith Haring

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Biography

Keith Haring was a pre-eminent artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York street culture of the 1980s. He was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania but grew up in Kutztown and was interested in art from an early age.

Keith Haring

Biography

Keith Haring was a pre-eminent artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York street culture of the 1980s. He was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania but grew up in Kutztown and was interested in art from an early age. From 1976 to 1978 he studied graphic design at the Ivy School of Professional Art, a commercial and fine art school in Pittsburgh. Keith moved to New York City where he was greatly inspired by the graffiti art, and additionally studied at the School of Visual Arts. Many of his works as a graffiti/pop artist show homoerotic themes.

He achieved his first public attention with his chalk drawings in the subways of New York. The exhibitions were put on film by the photographer Tseng Kwong Chi. At this time, “The Radiant Baby” also became his symbol. Starting in 1980, he organized exhibitions in Club 57. He participated in the Times Square Exhibition and drew for the first time animals and human faces. In 1981 he sketched his first chalk drawings on black paper and painted plastic, metal and found objects.

Haring’s sculpture (1 of 3) in the plaza of Lever House, New York City-he contributed in the New York new wave display. He met with the graffiti artist Angel Oritz. Following that, he had his first exclusive exhibition in the Tony Shafrzi Gallery. That same year, Haring took part of Documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany. He took part in the Whitney Biennial in 1983, as well as the Sao Paulo Biennial. He got to know Andy Warhol; Warhol was also the theme of several of Keith Haring’s pieces including “Andy Mouse”. In 1984, he painted wall murals in Melbourne (such as the 1984 ‘detail-mural at Collingwood College, Victoria’ that is unfortunately due for demolition), Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Minneapolis and Manhattan. In 1985 he began to paint canvas. Simultaneously, the Museum of Modern Art in Bordeaux opened an exhibition of his works, and he took part in the Paris Biennial. In 1986 Haring painted murals in Amsterdam, Paris, Phoenix and in Berlin on the Berlin wall at Checkpoint Charlie. He painted the body of Grace Jones for her video “I’m not perfect.”

He had his own exhibitions in 1987 in Helsinki and Antwerp, among others. Haring’s imagery has become a universally recognized visual language of the 20th century. The Keith Haring Foundation, established in 1989, continues Keith’s legacy of giving to children’s organizations.

In June 1989, on the rear wall of the convent of the church of Sant’antonio in Pisa, he painted the last public work of his life, the mural “Tuttomondo”.

In 1990, Keith Haring was chosen as one of the Absolut vodka artists, joining world famous artists such as painter Andy Warhol and glass artist Hans Godo Frabel. In the early 1990’s, Haring’s art was utilized in several Absolut vodka ads, bringing his art to the attention of large audiences.

Keith Haring died in 1990 of an HIV (AIDS)-related disease. He had been diagnosed HIV positive two years earlier.

Artist Website

Exhibitions

2018

Joseph Fine Art LONDON, London, Keith Haring – Still Drawing A Line

2017

Joseph Fine Art LONDON, London, Keith Haring – the beginning of Urban Art

2015

TBD, New York, Haring: 05041958

2014

Galerie Laurent Strouk, Paris, KEITH HARING
de Young Museum, San Francisco, Keith Haring: The Political Line

2012

Guy Hepner, Keith Haring and Retna

2006

Keith Haring: Journey of the Radiant Baby — Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania,
Editions on Paper — University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Keith Haring: Art and Commerce — Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, United States
Keith Haring: POP Haring – Symbols and Icons Editions on paper from the Estate of Keith Haring — Symbols and Icons Editions on paper from the Estate of Keith Haring.;
Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore,
Keith Haring: Paintings, Sculpture, Objects and Drawings — Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, New York, United States
Against All Odds — Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida, USA
Complete Editions on Paper — Centro Cultural Montehermoso Depsito de Aguas, Vitoria, Spain
Keith Haring: Monumental Sculptures — Poppy & Pierre Salinger Foundation, Le Thor, France
Mass Production: Artists’ Multiples and the Marketplace — Emily Davis Gallery of Myers School of Art, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA Keith Haring Drawings
Keith Haring — Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, Paris, France
Keith Haring – Early Drawings — Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK

2005

Keith Haring — Alpen-Adria Galerie, Klagenfurt, Austria
Keith Haring Sculptures — Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Keith Haring — Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, England
Galleria Salvatore Ala, Milan, Italy
Keith Haring: Urban Memory — Fundacion ICO, Madrid, Spain
Five Keith Haring Sculptures — Somerset House, London, England
Three Keith Haring Sculptures — Lever House, New York, New York,
The Keith Haring Show — La Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy
Editions on Paper — Fundacion Canal, Madrid, Spain
Keith Haring: Coloring Book Drawings — Briggs-Robinson Gallery, New York, New York, United States
L’Art a la Plage #4: Keith Haring — Galerie Enrico Navarra in cooperation with Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, St Tropez, France

2004

Keith Haring — Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Characters of Keith Haring — Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, NY, USA
Photos from the Archives: the Artist at Work — Pop Shop, New York, NY, USA
Keith Haring: New Wave Aztec — Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA
Alona Kagan Gallery, New York, New York

2003

Keith Haring: Short Message. Posters 1982-1990 — Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Pop Figuration — Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Four Sculptures — American Academy, Rome, Italy
Two Sculptures — Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy
Haring Drawings — Culturgest, Porto, Portugal
Kagan-Martos Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Keith Haring — Centro Cutural Banco do Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2002

Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Keith Haring: Heaven and Hell — Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holland
Keith Haring: Tarps — Van de Weghe Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Sex Show — Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, Paris, France
Keith Haring: Short Message. Posters 1982-1990 — Versicherungskammer Bayern, Munich, Germany

2001

Keith Haring Sculptures — Rome, Italy
The 10 Commandments — Wapping Power Station, London, England
Castello Ursino, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Keith Haring: Heaven and Hell — Museum fur Neue Kunst/ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany
National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Paradise Garage — Deitch Projects, New York City, NY, USA

2000

Keith Haring: the SVA Years — School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, USA
Keith Haring — Isetan Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Keith Haring: Sculptures on the Kurfu?Nrstendamm — Berlin Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany
Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy
Keith Haring Sculptures — Rome, Italy

1999

Keith Haring — Eki Museum, Kyoto, Japan
Keith Haring Sculptures — Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, Paris, France
Keith Haring — Musee Maillol, Paris, France
Katonah Art Museum, Katonah, NY, USA
Peter Gwyther Gallery, London, England
Casino Knokke, Knokke, Belgium
Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AR, USA
Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Keith Haring in Pisa — Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa, Italy

1998

Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, Florida, USA
Complete Editions on Paper — Museum Moderner Kunst, Passau, Germany
Dorothy Blau Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
Keith Haring in San Francisco — Installation of 10 sculptures in San Francisco, sponsored by the San Francisco
Art Commission; San Francisco, CA, USA
Keith Haring in West Hollywood — Installation of 10 sculptures along the Santa Monica Boulevard median, sponsored by the City of West Hollywood; West Hollywood, CA, USA
Tasende Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA

1997

Complete Editions on Paper — Kunsthalle, Cologne, Germany
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY, USA
Keith Haring on Park Avenue — Installation of 13 sculptures on the Park Avenue Malls between 53rd and 74th
Streets, sponsored by the Public Art Fund; New York City, NY, USA
Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York City, New York
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York
Seagram Gallery, New York City, New York
Keith Haring: Blurred Boundaries — Lobby Gallery, 717 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York

1996

Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York City, New York
Complete Editions on Paper — Museum Bochum, Leipzig, Germany
The 10 Commandments — Bruderkirche and Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
Dorothy Blau, Miami, Florida
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia

1995

Keith Haring Altarpiece — Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, California
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — Fundacion La Caixa, Madrid, Spain
Keith Haring: Works on Paper 1989 — Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York City, New York
Hans Mayer Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria
Keith Haring: Family and Friends Collect — Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania

1994

Keith Haring — curated by Germano Celant; Castellodi Rivoli, Turin, Italy
Complete Editions on Paper — Hiroshima, Japan
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York

1993

Queens Museum, Queens, New York
DIA Art Foundation, Bridgehampton, New York
Complete Editions on Paper — Galerie Littmann, Basel, Switzerland
Keith Haring: A Retrospective — Mitsukoshi Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
Galerie Nikolaus Sonne, Berlin, Germany
Musee de Louvain-la-Neuve, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Michael Fuchs Gallery, Berlin, Germany

1992

Gallery 56, Budapest, Hungary
Tabula Gallery, Tubingen, Germany
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York

1991

Hete Hunermann Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
Keith Haring: Future Primeval — University Galleries, Normal, Illinois
Haring, Disney, Warhol — Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Dante Park, Lincoln Center, New York City, New York
Chase Manhattan Bank, Soho Branch, New York City, New York
Erika Meyerovich Gallery, San Francisco, California
Molinar Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Steffanoni Gallery, Milan, Italy

1990

Galerie La Poche, Paris, France
Charles Lucien Gallery, New York City, New York
Philip Samuels Fine Art, St. Louis, Missouri
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York
Keith Haring: Future Primeval — Queens Museum, Queens, New York
Galerie Nikolaus Sonne, Berlin, Germany
Richard Nadeau Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gallery 56, Geneva, Switzerland
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City

1989

Gallery 121, Antwerp, Belgium
Casa Sin Nombre, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Galerie Hete Hunermann, Dusseldorf, Germany

1988

Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Hans Mayer Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York
Hokin Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida

1987

Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York
Galerie Kaj Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Gallery 121, Antwerp, Belgium
Casino Knokke, Knokke, Belgium
Kutztown New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Galerie Rivolta, Lausanne, Switzerland

1986

Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Sculpture Garden, New York City, New York, Art in the Park — Whitney Museum of American Art, Stamford, Connecticut
Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1985

Schellmann & Kluser, Munich, West Germany
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York
Leo Castelli Gallery, New York City, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France

1984

University Museum of Iowa City, Iowa City, Iowa
Paul Maenz Gallery, Cologne, West Germany
Keith Haring: Milan 1984 — with LA II; Salvatore Ala Gallery, Milan, Italy
Paradise Garage, New York City, New York
Galerie Corinne Hummel, Basel, Switzerland
Semaphore East, New York City, New York

1983

Fun Gallery, New York City, New York
Galerie Watari, Tokyo, Japan
Lucio Amelio Gallery, Naples, Italy
Matrix 75 — Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut
Robert Fraser Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York

1982

Rotterdam Arts Council, Rotterdam, Holland
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, New York

1980

Westbeth Painters Space, New York City, New York, P.S. 122, New York City, New York
Club 57, New York City, New York
Hal Bromm Gallery, New York City, New York